The Arizona Water Banking Authority was created in 1996 to store the unused portion of Arizona’s annual allocation of the Colorado River. By storing this unused water the AWBA secures a dependable water supply necessary to ensure the state’s long-term prosperity. The plan is intended to govern the operations of the AWBA over the course of the entire calendar year.

The Arizona Water Banking Authority was created in 1996 to store the unused portion of Arizona’s annual allocation of Colorado River water. Until the AWBA was created, Arizona had not fully utilized its 2.8 million acre-foot allocation of Colorado River water and the state’s leaders recognized that leaving a portion of Arizona’s allocation in the river was a lost opportunity. The AWBA was created to provide assurances that water users within the state had secure, long-term water supplies.

In September 2005, some concerned Walker residents contacted the Arizona Department of Health Services in regards to the quality of groundwater in the area. The residents petitioned ADHS to perform well water tests to determine the character of the water, and whether there is any potential health risk associated with consuming or using the water. In response to the concerned community members and in agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, ADHS collected water samples from the site and completed a health consultation. This health consultation evaluates if the levels of lead and other metals in the private wells in Walker area pose any adverse health effects.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality asked the Arizona Department of Health Services to evaluate the health threat to residents from exposures to ash fallout from a fire at an asphalt plant located on the Salt River Indian Reservation in Mesa, Arizona. The facility has recently been bought by Vulcan, Inc. The site is located just north of the Salt River between Dobson and Alma School Roads. April 13, 1999.

This public health assessment evaluates the potential public health hazard from exposure to contaminated groundwater in the vicinity of the Tucson International Airport. The Tucson International Airport Area superfund site consists of a main plume of contaminated groundwater and three smaller areas of groundwater contamination east of the main plume. This report focuses on one of these areas of contamination called Plume B and evaluates the public health hazard posed by Plume B to residents of the area of south Tucson bounded by Valencia Road, Campbell Avenue, Irvington Road, and 6th Avenue.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency asked the Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Environmental Health, to provide an evaluation of the health hazards that may result from exposure to soil and soil gas contaminants present on the West-Cap site, located just north of the Tucson International Airport. Improper waste disposal practices from previous industrial activities at the site have resulted in contamination of on-site soil and soil gas. The objective of this health assessment is to assess the potential adverse health impact to on-site workers from exposure to the on-site contaminated soil and soil gas. Community exposures are not presented in this public health assessment.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has asked the Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Environmental Health, to conduct a health assessment for the off-site residential area located adjacent to the Tucson Industrial Center, also known as the 3 Hangars site, within the larger Tucson International Airport Area Superfund site, in Tucson, Arizona. Previous investigations found that elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the drainage areas at the TIC site had migrated off-site into residential areas presenting a health threat to residents. The purpose of this Public Health Assessment is to evaluate if a public health hazard still exists since the remediation activities have been conducted at the off-site El Vado residential area. ADHS concludes that no current public health hazard exists as a result of ingestion, dermal, or inhalation exposures by residents, children, or transients to the post remediated soil in the residential areas on El Vado Road. Replacement of the top soil with certified clean soil has removed all contact with the soil containing PCBs eliminating any future public health hazard.

Previous studies at Lake Havasu and Lake Powell, combined with other national data indicate that carbon monoxide poisoning from recreational watercraft can create a significant health hazard. The current study was designed not to repeat the 2003 study. Instead, it was designed to explore the potential health effects of carbon monoxide under the conditions of Humbug Cove. Humbug Cove is known for congregating idling boats, higher frequency of alcohol consumption, and being a location that was secluded and sheltered from breezes or wind.

The Miller Road Treatment Facility was built by the North Indian Bend Wash Participating Companies to treat groundwater in order to reduce the levels of volatile organic compounds that have contaminated the aquifers. The facility was brought on-line in March 1997, and ownership was transferred to AAWC in December 1997. The facility processes the groundwater to remove the VOCs. Between January 15–17, 2008 trichloroethylene (TCE) was detected in the Paradise Valley Water System. Arizona American Water Company, who own and operate the Paradise Valley system, contacted the Arizona Department of Health Services and requested assistance in determining possible health risks from exposures related to this incidence. In response, the Arizona Department of Health Services reviewed existing data and performed a health consultation to evaluate the possibility of adverse health effects associated with this event.

The Arizona Department of Health Services received a request for a Health Consultation from the City of Litchfield Park, dated March 5, 2007. The nature of the request was for ADHS to determine if there was a risk to public health from eating fish taken from Tierra Verde Lake. The City sponsors an annual fishing derby and believed that some citizens were eating the fish they caught. The City tested their lake water and for the very first time, measurable amounts of perchlorates were detected. The probable source for the perchlorates was thought to be from a groundwater, contaminant plume originating from the Phoenix Goodyear Airport Superfund Site.